It sounds like Cavs’ forward Georges Niang was not happy with Ben Simmons mental health holdout back in 2021 when they were still both Sixers.

In a recent interview with Richard Jefferson on the “Road Trippin” podcast, the former Philadelphia 76er unleashed his true feelings on the whole Ben Simmons saga. You’ll recall that Simmons fatefully fell apart offensively and from the free throw line back during the 2021 NBA Playoffs vs. the Atlanta Hawks.

While the three-time All-Star and 2021 runner-up Defensive Player of the Year did a terrific job on the defensive end limiting Trae Young, the LSU one-and-done from Australia received boos from the Philly faithful towards the end of Game 5, when the Sixers let a 26-point lead slip through their hands at home. He heard even more after they were eliminated in Game 7 at home, losing their third home game of the series under then coach Doc Rivers.

The team still had a golden opportunity to make an Eastern Conference Finals but it wasn’t in the cards. After the game, both Joel Embiid and Doc Rivers pointed the proverbial finger at Simmons, and that was just about all she wrote for Ben’s tenure in Philly.

Of course, it all worked out for the best here, since Daryl Morey was able to trade Simmons, whose career has since been largely derailed with back injuries, to Brooklyn for James Harden by February 2022. Without Harden, the team wouldn’t have had a real chance of defeating the Boston Celtics by 2023, and wouldn’t have landed the draft capital they currently possess from the Los Angeles Clippers (two firsts, and a swap). Oh right, and they wouldn’t have had the cap space to pursue Paul George this summer. So it all worked out for the Sixers in the end — who were just voted by anonymous NBA execs as having had the best offseason in the entire NBA per ESPN.

But Niang was a newcomer to the Sixers at the time, having recently signed a two-year deal. And he shed some light on his feelings back when Niang learned Simmons wasn’t planning to suit up for the franchise for the 2021-2022 season.

Per the Road Trippin pod with Jefferson, Channing Frye and Allie Clifton, Niang’s take when asked by R.J. if there was anyone he simply doesn’t f-k with in the NBA:

“In Philly it was the — and I don’t want to beat a dead horse with it cause I actually feel bad at this point — the Ben Simmons thing. That like, that pissed me off cause you know guys are trying to make a living, right? And I came from Utah, I signed just a little over the minimum. And I’m like ‘oh this is perfect. I’m a spot up shooter, this guy f—ing drives the lane everybody collapses, he kicks out, like this is going to be great for my career. I signed a two-year deal. And then he was like, ‘I’m not playing’ and I’m like, ‘what the [expletive]?’….

So I’m like, ‘How the [expletive] am I going to make something happen?’ And then he was walking around the facility, and you’d be like, ‘What’s up, man?’ ‘cause you know, and he’d be like, [nods], and that’s when I was like, [expletive] this dude. If I get an opportunity to play against this dude, I’m gonna just be an asshole. There’s like ‘don’t do dumb shit while you’re out there,’ I was like ‘out the window….’ I was pissed.”

The transcript really doesn’t do the delivery justice so give it a watch below, or listen to the full pod with the former Sixers’ sniper, now a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Ironically, Niang actually played some of the best ball of his career alongside Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and the Simmons-less Sixers. And he was able to continue to provide key minutes serving as a pick-and-pop and spot-up man with Harden after the blockbuster trade.

Niang played a career high 22.8 mpg that 2021-2022 season (the team making up for a max salaried roster hole didn’t hurt him there) so things wound up working out pretty well for the Iowa State product, now 31 years old. It also allowed Maxey to assume point guard responsibilities where he began his rapid ascent. This past season he won Most Improved and made his first All-Star team at just 23 years old.

Niang parlayed his success after two seasons in Philly into a lucrative three-year $26M deal with Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs.

So it’s safe to say that he did make something happen after all and didn’t need to rely on Simmons’ drive and kicks to contribute and later get paid. But it’s clear there is no love lost here. Niang probably speaks for more than a few other Sixer players and fans, unhappy with the way things ended with Philadelphia’s former No. 1 overall selection under former GM Bryan Colangelo back in 2016.

It’s not terribly difficult to imagine Simmons walking around the facility a bit aloof and cold towards his teammates, while he tried to get himself traded as soon as possible. Niang paints the picture we can imagine all too well.